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Fantasy Football Matchday 4 lessons: Defenders

Defenders who have the potential to provide attacking returns remain an huge asset, as Achraf Hakimi proved again.

Dortmund's Achraf Hakimi leads the way for defenders on #UCLfantasy
Dortmund's Achraf Hakimi leads the way for defenders on #UCLfantasy ©Getty Images

Matchday 4 continued to demonstrate the importance of owning one or more defenders who also act as a threat at the other end of the field.

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Dortmund full-back Achraf Hakimi (€5.6m) added another two goals last time out to take his tally to four for the season. The Moroccan international has struck more goals than any other defender in the UEFA Champions League this season and is also the highest point-scoring #UCLfantasy defender with 42 points.

Matchday 4 also highlighted the value of defenders who have high ball recovery rates. The ability to score three, four or even five points from ball recoveries alone provide these defenders with an extremely high point-scoring potential. The biggest example of this is Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly (€6.0m), who now has 38 total ball recoveries and secured five additional points on Matchday 4 for his 16 recovered balls.

Other excellent examples are Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk (€6.5m), Hakimi's Dortmund team-mate Mats Hummels (€5.5m), Joachim Andersen (€4.4m) of Lyon and Salzburg's Jérôme Onguéné (€3.9m). All secured four additional points for ball recoveries on Matchday 4 and have yet to score fewer than three points for ball recoveries in any of the UEFA Champions League matches they have started this season.

MAKING DEFENSIVE CHANGES FOR MATCHDAY 5?

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